Sideways Motorcycle Trailer - Any Good?

Firstly..
you do not ratchet across the seat :blast:eek:

Always frame and handlebars plus maybe front forks..

Secondly, they are buggers to see in mirrors, almost impossible to reverse and are liable to tap the back of towing vehicle in quite moderate turns.
with the rear overhang on our wobblybox it would clout the corner on almost any rt angle road junction..
Thirdly, reversing is a no no, thats why there is a jockey wheel as standard fitting [ for manouvering ]

Finally, carrying bikes sidewards put loads of stress on straps fittings etc every time you accelerate or brake :eek

Only exception is the bike racks fitted on back of motohomes etc, where the rear of the carrying vehicle takes the braking strain [in our case through fixed support on rear of Hymer] .....
I use normal trailers and do tow a hell of a lot of miles a year :)
 
Proff said:
Firstly..
you do not ratchet across the seat :blast:eek:

Always frame and handlebars plus maybe front forks..

Secondly, they are buggers to see in mirrors, almost impossible to reverse and are liable to tap the back of towing vehicle in quite moderate turns.
with the rear overhang on our wobblybox it would clout the corner on almost any rt angle road junction..
Thirdly, reversing is a no no, thats why there is a jockey wheel as standard fitting [ for manouvering ]

Finally, carrying bikes sidewards put loads of stress on straps fittings etc every time you accelerate or brake :eek

Only exception is the bike racks fitted on back of motohomes etc, where the rear of the carrying vehicle takes the braking strain [in our case through fixed support on rear of Hymer] .....
I use normal trailers and do tow a hell of a lot of miles a year :)
Click to expand...

I agree with Proff & would much prefer to tow a normal trailer, especially one that you can see in your mirrors

Some good points made by Proff, he knows what's what
 
It states it up to 7ft 6 wide - that'll be fun down some roads. don't forget its there as you squeaze past that parked Rolls :blast :eek:
I would have thought that you see little else in you mirrors!
 
jimbo said:
It states it up to 7ft 6 wide - that'll be fun down some roads. don't forget its there as you squeaze past that parked Rolls :blast :eek:
I would have thought that you see little else in you mirrors!
Click to expand...

Our Wobblybox is 7'6" wide. I leave the camera on for monitoring puposes.
Means you get punctures, not new tyres and trailer damage because you don't see till to late..
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Interesting thread...I will be getting a trailer around June and I was thinking of going for the collapsible Motolug. It looks solid but not cheap!
 
I would like somthing with bigger wheels, the wheels look like they have a low speed rating. Reversing camera is a must when towing leave it on all the time it really helps when the trailer is in view.
 
Tyre Down straps - may interfere with huggers and pannier racks, but if not - they are a great securing method.

Al :thumb2
 

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patzx12 said:
I would like somthing with bigger wheels, the wheels look like they have a low speed rating. Reversing camera is a must when towing leave it on all the time it really helps when the trailer is in view.
Click to expand...

My tyres [ on 4 {at the mo' :D} trailers ] have speed loading of 112 mph :eek::eek::eek:

BUT SPEED LIMIT FOR TRAILERS IS 60 MPH

EVEN AGRICULTURAL TYRES CAN COPE WITH THAT :blast


If I need to do some Heavy duty towing, this is available to me :aidan
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I wouldn't try loading a bike without the trailer being attached to a motor. I could imagine that the whole lot would tip over without too much trouble!

:eek:

Greg
 
That sideways trailer scares me :eek

No way :nono

As for lashing down .....Proff, the handlebars? :blast

Nearly lost my GSA once by doing that........never again.

Footrest hangers, telelever, headstock maybe......there are plenty of places to lash to on most bikes, but never use anything that will/could bend or slip around in its mounting.

If I was after another trailer now (I have an old motolug) I would get some parts from Motolug, (the folding main body and the beam/axle) and I'd spec up my own suspension units, using off the shelf units like this:

trailer-suspension-units-1000kg-20cwt-for-13-in-wheels.jpg

I'd have 13 inch standard rims with a 5.5pcd setup (try getting a spare wheel or tyre for a motolug in Morocco and you'll know why :blast) and I'd weld some bits on to make it far better than the Motolug, using what we learned from towing GSs around Morocco on one for all those years.

Actually.......If I had the money, I could make superb trailers for GSs with what we learnt :cool:
 
Proff said:
Firstly..
you do not ratchet across the seat :blast:eek:

Always frame and handlebars plus maybe front forks..

:)
Click to expand...

I know that:blast, I have been trailering bikes across Europe on standard trailers for many years.

When I mentioned ratcheting down on the seat I was referring to the trailer in the link that has a metal bar that locates across the seat and is ratcheted down.

The reason I asked the question is because my current trailer is a Motolug which I have used and abused and I am now looking for a replacement.

I was hoping someone was going to say the sideways trailer was great but as I suspected the concensus seems to be to steer clear.

So I think the next one with be from Phoenix Trailers as they seem very robust.

http://www.phoenixtrailer.co.uk/motorcycle.php
 
If you are thinking of a Trailer Frame as in post 6
check the weight limit of yer towbar = my car is 75kgs on towball
Theres a hell of a lot more with a big bike
 
MickDB1 said:
If you are thinking of a Trailer Frame as in post 6
check the weight limit of yer towbar = my car is 75kgs on towball
Theres a hell of a lot more with a big bike
Click to expand...


:confused:

Only if the bike is extremely badly loaded Mick.

If the bike is loaded correctly, it should be possible to lift the front of the trailer onto the two hitch with one hand.......the weight of the bike is taken through the wheels of the trailer, not passed on to the hitch.
 
Fanum said:
:confused:

Only if the bike is extremely badly loaded Mick.

If the bike is loaded correctly, it should be possible to lift the front of the trailer onto the two hitch with one hand.......the weight of the bike is taken through the wheels of the trailer, not passed on to the hitch.
Click to expand...

:blast@ Fannykins....
Mick is on about those tow hitch mounted front wheel supports..
Useless on anything with less than 200 kgs tow bar support [ most are twixt 50 to 75 kgms as Mick says :thumb2]
Tried one for my trike,, front wheel weight 180 kgs Useless even on our Wobblybox..
[125kgs noseweight]
 
tuftywhite said:
My dad got something like this http://motorbiketrailers.org.uk/ to tow his bike.

It looks weird but works really well. There are different types on the same idea. May be worth looking at.
Click to expand...

I really don't like that, for the simple reason that the tension in the straps will vary as the bike's rear wheel rises and falls relative to the towing vehicle. Think speed bumps, kerbs, even raised manhole covers. In extreme cases the straps will either be so tight that something breaks (possibly the strap itself) or so slack that the bike falls off the rig.

I just think it's a really bad idea.

(edit) Plus of course the towbar weight thingy as mentioned above...:D:D:D
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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